People: Richard Belzer in hot water over Nazi salute

"Law & Order: SVU" star Richard Belzer tried to excuse his throwing up a Nazi salute on the red carpet Monday but the Anti-Defamation League isn't buying it.

Belzer, 67, said he made the salute during a TV festival in Monte Carlo to pay homage to the Charlie Chaplin movie "The Great Dictator." He also placed two fingers on his upper lip in what appeared to be an imitation of Hitler's mustache.

"My grandfather represented Israel in the U.N. before it was made a nation," he said in a statement. "I'm a Jewish comedian, and there's this new thing out, it's called satire, irony and historical reference.

"To say that a Jew can't do that gesture as homage to Chaplin's masterpiece, 'The Great Dictator' is like Muslim extremists killing a cartoonist for disparaging Mohammed in his art."

The Anti-Defamation League strongly disagreed. ADL Director Abe Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, told TMZ, "Regardless of his explanation for his behavior, Richard Belzer's imitation of Hitler was still inappropriate and offensive."

Foxman added, "It's not the least bit funny, but there's no law against it. Someone who is Jewish should know better and not disregard Jewish pain and tragedy just for the sake of a joke."

What's more, this is the second time Belzer has publicly thrown the Nazi salute. He also did it in 2009 during an appearance on "The Sean Hannity Show."